A Glimpse of the Divine
by agent000
Summary: War breaks out. Al's life energy is weakening. All other avenues have been exhausted. It might sound unscientific, but there really doesn't seem to be any other choice. Rated for drug use.
1. Chapter 1

_**Yeah, here I am, starting another story. Forgive me, heh, but I just couldn't resist this one. I've never written one like this before. For the most part, I'm always so innocent with my stories that nothing worse happens than that people die at the hands of a criminal that nobody ever gets to really know, heh. That doesn't sound so innocent when worded like that though, hehe. All the same though, it's definitely an indication that I'm moving out of my comfort zone when I won't swear or have sexuality in my fics, but now I'm writing one involving drugs. Go figure.**_

_**But before we go on, I just have to get this off my chest. Diviners and shamans have used various herbs for millenia that we now label as "drugs". I don't perceive there being anything morally wrong with gaining some assistance with looking into the Divine, but never, never, never play around with drugs! They are not a toy, and should not be treated as such! Respect the herb, and it will respect you. Disregard it, and your life will be screwed beyond redemption. Don't fool around with it.**_

_**There, now that I got that off my chest, I can comfortably continue with the fic. I was going to have the next scene in this chapter, but it got so long and it's so late that I wouldn't be able to do the next chapter justice, so you'll just have to forgive me. Hopefully this scene is interesting enough on its own, but the next chapter should be awesome when I'm wide awake, so stay with me until then, and remember that this scene was written while under the influence of sleep deprivation. Seems sleep is an addiction we all suffer from, heh.**_

_**Disclaimer: I'm going to teach this caveman how to say the disclaimer. Now, say, "I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist."**_

_**Caveman: Uhhhhhhh...GRAH!!!!**_

_**This could take awhile. **_

"Darn it all, anyway!" said Edward as he angrily wadded up a sheet of newspaper and threw it in the general direction of the wastebasket, where it joined several other similar wads of newspaper scattered around the floor. He then took the remaining newspaper that still lay before him on the dining room table and violently shook it as he opened it to yet another page, almost hoping that his treatment of it would just tear it in half so that he wouldn't have to worry about further demolition later. Didn't the newspaper journalists believe in writing about anything good that was happening? Why did he have to be haunted by this stuff, even in his own home?

"Are you okay, Brother?" came a weak voice from the doorway leading to the dining room. Edward looked up to see Al leaning against the side of the archway. The boy was panting hard, as though just that simple movement had been a lot of effort.

"Al!" said Ed, jumping up from his seat immediately and sprinting across the room to get to his brother. "You should not be walking around! What were you thinking?" He grabbed his little brother rather roughly by his shirt and pulled him towards himself so that he would be taking most of the weight, and then he led Al over to a free chair by the dining table and sat him down at it. After freeing his mind of the scare from Al moving around, Ed returned to his own seat and stared at his brother, who was still panting heavily, even sitting down.

"I'm sorry, Brother," said Al, in between breaths, "I just wanted to make sure you were alright. You were in here yelling at something, and I just-"

"No, Al," Ed said with a wave of his hand to cut Al off mid-sentence. "Don't apologize for that. I should have kept my temper under control. Just please, don't go wandering around by yourself like that again. You scared me to death!"

"I'm sorry, Bro-"

"Stop apologizing, Al, you're not doing anything wrong!" said Ed, raising his voice just the tiniest bit and then dropping it again, once he caught the surprised look on Al's face. Ed sighed. There really wasn't going to be any easy way out of this, was there? "Look, Al, I just don't want you using up your energy. You know very well that my transmutation wasn't stable, and everything you do causes energy to leak out of your body."

"I know, Brother," said Al, closing his eyes and looking down at the ground.

Ed sighed once again and rolled his eyes. "Al, look...it's just that...well, I worry about you, okay? Conserve your energy until we can find a way to stabilize the transmutation; that's all I ask."

A slight tic formed in the side of Al's mouth that almost looked like a smile, and Al said, "But I get so bored just sitting around."

Ed sat back and looked longingly at the boy. He so badly wanted to solve his problems, wanted to fix them, wanted to make them go away, but there was really nothing he could do at present. Why did he have to be so useless at a time when it meant so much for him to be of some use? "I'm sorry, Al..." Ed said, letting his own eyes drift to the floor. "I'll try to spend more time with you. Would that help?"

"But what about your studies?" Al said, looking up at Ed all of a sudden.

Ed raised his head and returned the look at Al. "I can bring my studies into the room with you. I don't have to study in the den."

Al smiled slightly, only to have it retreat back to a neutral expression. "Um, Brother...w-wouldn't that be too much of a burden on you?"

"Nah," said Ed, throwing his hand to his side as he took on an air of nonchalance, "If anything, it'll give me more exercise from walking up and down the stairs a bit more."

"If you're sure it won't be a bother," said Al, once again turning his gaze to the floor.

"Not at all!" said Ed, raising his voice once again, which caused Al's head to snap to attention, "Now stop thinking you're a burden or I'll show you what a burden _is_!" Al finally smiled at that, so Ed let out his breath and relaxed his tensed muscles. He was worrying enough about Al as it was, he didn't need a depressed Al on top of that. At least one of them should remain happy.

"Hey, Al, do you want the rest of my toast?" said Ed as he passed a plate with a slice of buttered toast in Al's direction, "I'm not very hungry...don't think I'll eat the rest."

"That's odd," said Al, reaching eagerly for the bread and taking a big bite out of it before saying anything more. "You usually have a ravenous appetite, Brother. Are you sure you're okay?"

Ed smiled and looked at Al again. Who was he to talk about a ravenous appetite when he was scarfing down that toast like he'd never eaten before? There was no way that the boy was going to be satisfied with just one slice of toast. Ed stood up and walked into the adjacent kitchen to find something more for Al to eat once he had finished with his toast.

"I'm fine," Ed called back as he opened and closed cupboard doors, "I've just got a lot on my mind is all. It kind of kills an appetite." He quickly whipped together something that almost resembled a sandwich and brought it in to Al, who devoured it graciously.

As soon as the sandwich was finished, Al took to licking his fingers, as though hoping there was still more sandwich to eat on them. "Well, just don't let yourself starve," he said in between licking fingers, "I don't want to have to worry about you too."

Ed grimaced, but didn't figure that he had to respond to that comment. It was too easy to dodge it this time. "Al, if you're still hungry, we have plenty more food. Just ask."

Al blushed and hung his head again, his hand making its way down to his lap, his fingers completely forgotten. "I don't want to burden you, Brother."

Ed breathed out what sounded more like a roar than a sigh and rolled his eyes. "Geez, Al, how many times do I have to tell you that you are_not_ a burden?" Without waiting for an answer, he got up and went into the kitchen again and threw another sandwich together for Al.

"Now," said Ed, handing said sandwich to his brother, "If you're hungry after this, just tell me, okay? Your body's having trouble storing energy right now, so it's obviously trying to accommodate by devouring large quantities of food." Ed paused and watched as Al greedily took a big bite out of this new sandwich. "Just don't deprive yourself of what you need, even if you feel guilty, okay?" Al didn't respond verbally since his mouth was full of food, but he nodded his understanding, so Ed sat down and picked up his newspaper again.

He sighed. There was nothing better on this page either. He tore that page out and crumpled it up just before sending it over to its brothers by the wastebasket. Al looked up from his sandwich and darted his eyes between his brother and the wastebasket. "It looks like you're not finding much good news," he said.

"Gol-ly, you must be psychic, Al," Ed said with more than a touch of sarcasm in his voice. Al chuckled slightly and then banged at his chest with his fist. Ed smirked at the boy. There was no way Al could fool him into thinking he was choking when he was really trying to disguise a chuckle, but it was a nice try. For that effort, he might not kill Al for making fun of his choice of the word 'golly'.

"It's all news about the upcoming war, isn't it?" said Al through a mouthful of food. Apparently he had forgotten his table manners for once, but just one breach of etiquette would be okay. Besides, the boy was sick, so...no, he couldn't think like that. He _wouldn't_ think like that. Al was going to get well just like he had every other time in his life. Things would turn out fine...wouldn't they?

He brought his hand up to his brow and began to rub at it to wipe away the images that that previous thought had caused. It was time to come back to the present. He sighed and folded up the newspaper and set it to the side. It had caused enough grief for one day, and that was quite enough. He placed his head in his hands. "War, war, war, that seems to be all anybody in this country ever talks about."

"I know what you mean," said Al, swallowing yet another bite of his sandwich to try and not talk with his mouth full again, "Being trapped up in my room, I don't get much news, and I sometimes wish I did. But when you consider the news I'd be getting, I almost wish I didn't get any."

Ed sighed again and placed his arms down flat on the table and then rested his chin down on top of the backs of his hands. He looked across the table to his brother, who he had to look up at from this position, but he didn't really mind much when his brain was so full of images of other things to worry about. "Yeah," said Ed, finding that speech was a lot harder when you were resting on your chin, but again, he didn't really care. "You would have thought that getting rid of the Fuhrer would be a good thing, but now they're trying to change the governmental system around on us, and it's causing chaos."

Al sighed and rolled his eyes, almost as though in imitation of his brother. "Chaos like war." He reached for his brother's coffee cup and took a sip without asking permission first, though Ed didn't care, as long as Al was doing his best to take care of himself. "What do they hope to accomplish by starting another war, anyway?"

"I don't know," said Ed, "I would have thought power under any other circumstances, but they've already disbanded the State Alchemist program, so I have no idea."

The next thing either of the boys knew, Winry suddenly appeared in the kitchen, carrying a bag loaded with groceries she had picked up from the market. "Hey, Ed, look what I..." she started to say, when her gaze suddenly shifted to the other presence in the room, and she stopped herself short. "Al! What are you doing down here? You're supposed to be upstairs resting!"

"He got bored," said Ed in Al's defense before Al had the chance to say anything himself. "I would be too if I had to stay up in that room all by myself all day."

"All the same," said Winry as she placed her bag of groceries on the table and then placed her free hands on her hips, "Al, you need your rest. Don't go wandering around the house like that!"

"I'm sorry, Winry," said Al, emphasizing his statement with a slight bow of his head. Winry's stance melted and her arms flopped down loosely beside her legs.

"Aw, Al, I can't stay mad at you," she said, "But please use a little common sense. We worry about you because we love you and don't want you to get hurt."

"I know," said Al. He turned his attention away from the girl and eyed the bag of groceries with interest. Ed wondered if Al was still hungry or just in the mood to eat for the sake of eating. All the same, if he wanted to eat, then he would eat, no questions asked. Al reached out his hand and grabbed a piece of paper from the bag of groceries that was sticking up above it. "What's this, Winry?"

"Oh!" she said, and then punctuated it with a bit of a chuckle. "There was a guy standing around handing out flyers for psychic readings. I didn't want to be rude, so I took one."

Ed scoffed and sat back in his chair. He crossed his legs and arms and glared at the paper in Al's hands like it was the most despicable thing on the planet. Those people were just a bunch of charlatans selling false hope to fill their pockets. It was legal theft was what it was.

Al looked up from the paper to his brother and suddenly said, "Hey, Brother, why don't we go to this guy?"

Ed coughed and sat forward in his seat, now fully alert. "Are you serious, Al? That guy's not out to tell you the truth, he's out to get into your pocket!"

Al shrugged and sighed, taking another look at the paper and then back to Ed. "But we've tried everything else. I thought that it wouldn't hurt to see if someone like this had some answers."

"Completely out of the question, Al," said Ed, waving his hand dismissively and then putting his foot up on the table, which tilted his chair back. "First off, that is completely unscientific. There is no way they can get information that we ourselves couldn't get through a little research. Second, even if there was some truth to it, they're hiding it by catering to their customers' desires and saying what they want to hear."

Ed stopped ranting for a moment to gauge his brother's reaction. Hopefully his message was hitting home. Al was staring at him with a blank face, which meant that at least he was listening. Ed sighed and placed his right hand over his brow and extended his left hand out in front of him, as though reaching for something.

"I'm getting a name. It's not quite clear, but it starts with an E. Then you say, 'Wow, my brother's name is Edward!' so I continue. I see a sad expression. You say that I'm sad a lot. So I say that your brother loves you and wants to see you. You get excited at the incredible accuracy and ask if I can talk to your mother. I say yes, she's standing here now, giving me a message. She wants me to tell you she loves you. I then ask you to pay me 200 cens if you want me to continue."

By that time, both Al and Winry were giggling at Ed's nonsense. Ed hadn't even realized that such a show would be so amusing, but at least it drove his point home. You don't go to a so-called psychic to get answers. They couldn't tell you anything you didn't already know.

Soon, the two stopped giggling, and Winry turned to face Edward. "Seriously, Ed, you have tried everything else. Why don't you try that avenue?"

Ed sat bolt upright. "After what I just performed, you still want to go to one of those charlatans?"

Winry shrugged. "I don't think _all_ of them are necessarily charlatans. Some of them really try to help people."

Ed sat back in his chair again and crossed his arms and legs. "Yeah right."

"Come on, Brother," said Al, leaning forward in his seat, still holding tightly to the paper, "I'm really curious about what they'd say. I'm sure we could find someone who was legitimate."

"Al," said Ed, placing his forehead in his hand and rocking his head back and forth in disbelief, "I can't believe you're saying this. There is no. such. thing. as a legitimate psychic! It's unscientific! They're all frauds!"

"Now you're just being closed-minded," said Winry, "Come on, Ed, haven't you tried everything else? So you don't believe in such things. Big deal. Satisfy Al's curiosity. It's the least you can do for him."

Ed removed his hand from his head and slumped down into his seat with a sigh. There was no winning against that woman when she used a guilt trip on him like that. It wasn't fair. At all. He knew very well that she was insinuating that Al might not be around very long, and so he should at least entertain him. Thankfully, Al was too naïve to catch onto that aspect of her speech. He didn't want his little brother knowing that those close to him had placed a ticking clock on his life.

With one final sigh, Ed threw his hand up into the air. "Fine! You win. We'll go see a psychic-thingy if it means so much to you."

Al's face immediately brightened and he excitedly asked Edward, "Really, Brother?"

Ed rubbed his face in annoyance as he said, "Have I ever said anything I didn't mean?"

The answer to that question was debatable, but Al's face just grew brighter, and he practically bounced in his seat at the announcement. "When can we go?"

Ed removed his hand from his face once again and pointed his finger at Al. "Now you hold on a minute. We're not going to just anybody. I may not believe in a legitimate psychic, but we're not going to someone who only wants us for our money. They have to have a reputation for trying to help people or we're not going."

"How do you plan to find that out?" asked Winry.

Ed shrugged. "I have connections. I'll find someone." With that, he stood up and cleared his dishes, and then came back to the table and grabbed Al's shoulder. "We'd better get you back up to your bed. You can't stay down here all day, you know."

"I know, Brother," said Al, looking between Ed and Winry, but still managing to keep a slight smile on his face, "But it felt really good to get down here for a change. It was nice to see something other than those four walls."

Ed half-heartedly returned the smile. "Well, you'll be seeing something more than that from now on. We're going to make sure to spend a lot more time with you so you don't get so bored, right Winry?" He turned to look at the girl to make sure she'd gotten the message. She wore a surprised look on her face for a moment, but then seemed to catch on, and nodded. "Good," he said, turning back to Al, "Now let's get you to bed."

Ed then reached down and grabbed Al's waist and hoisted him up over his shoulder. Al laughed at the unexpected gesture as he hung upside down over his brother's back. "Brother, I can walk."

"No, you can't," said Ed, "If you do, you're going to get a lot more than a lecture from me the next time you try it, understand?"

Al sighed. "Yeeees," he said reluctantly.

"Good," said Ed, and then marched out of the kitchen and up the stairs with the boy. Al was extremely heavy to carry this way, especially with him being almost the same size as him, but he wasn't about to let on to that. Al would feel guilty if he knew. Besides, Al was a lot lighter than normal, since he kept losing weight no matter how much he ate. Hopefully they'd fix that soon, but it did make the boy a lot easier to carry.

Ed entered their room and leaned over so that Al flopped down onto his bed. "Now, stay here like a good little patient, got it?" Ed pointed a finger at Al for emphasis, and Al chuckled back in response.

"How many times do I have to say I understand, Brother?"

"As many times as it takes to ensure that you do," said Ed. He then smiled and turned to leave. "Now, I'm going to go make a few calls about your psychic visit, so no funny stuff, or no psychic visit, got it?"

"I said I got it, Brother!" Al then picked up a nearby pillow and threw it at Ed's retreating form, narrowly missing the boy as he went out the door. Ed couldn't help but laugh at little bit at his little brother's behavior. He was still so light-hearted and strong-willed no matter what was going on around him, whereas he was falling apart. He would have lost all his optimism by then if it hadn't been for Al. He couldn't lose Al, he just couldn't. There had to be a way to save him somehow.

"So how is he doing?" asked Winry as Ed came back into the dining room.

Ed shook his head and walked over to the table. "He's lost a lot of weight, and he's eating more than usual to make up for it."

Winry came over to the boy and placed a hand on his shoulder. She stood there silently for a moment, just sharing her presence with him without words. Finally she said, "I'm so sorry, Edward, I wish there was something I could do." Then she turned and left the room, blinking hard. Ed guessed she was holding back tears until she could get out of the room.

Ed sighed and hung his head. Without Al around, his facade always came falling right down. There was no way he could live without Al. There had to be a way to save him, but they had already exhausted every avenue. Except one. The boy growled under his breath at the thought, but he really was out of options, and even he couldn't deny it.

He pushed himself away from the table and stood up. It was time to make a phone call to a psychic.

_**I hope you liked that. Again, my apologies for however it sounds from writing it late at night. I won't discover what I should have done differently until I've gotten some sleep, so I hope it's bearable. Please, by all means, ask me any questions I've left unanswered or any areas I've confused you with, as I'm more likely to not explain things well when I'm tired, though point such things out regardless, because it helps me to write better, heh. Anyway, I hope to see you all soon, and I'll write up the next chapter once I get some sleep. Ta Ta For Now! ((Now you know I'm tired if I'm saying THAT.))**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Heh, I guess I'm finally learning how to slow down in my story telling. I thought that the awesome chapter I have planned would have been in the first chapter. Then that turned out not to be the case, so I thought it would be in the second chapter. Wrong again. It'll be in the third chapter for sure. There's nothing else happening between the end of this chapter and the awesome scene, so look forward to that one, hehe. I'll write it up as soon as I can, because I don't want to lose the images in my mind. In the meantime, enjoy the story.**_

_**Disclaimer: My disclaimer muse doesn't seem to hang around much anymore, so I guess I should just boringly state that I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist.**_

_**Muse: Okay, I'm here, did I make it?**_

_**Me: Yeah, just in time for the end of the disclaimer.**_

_**Muse: Ah, nuts. I'll improve my timing, I swear!**_

_**Me: Right, right. **_

He still couldn't believe he was doing this, even if it was for his little brother's benefit. It was so ridiculously unscientific that he would never have even considered it had the circumstances been slightly different. Basically, if his brother's health were not a concern, he would not be here.

"Brother, are you sure I can't just walk?" said Al as Ed hoisted him up by his waist and plopped him down into a wheelchair on the platform by the train. The younger boy blushed a bit at the treatment, but didn't fight. Ed was relieved that he didn't. It was hard enough having to force Al to just take all their treatment, he didn't want to have to fight him over it as well. He could only imagine how difficult this situation would be if the roles were reversed. Ed was not a very good patient, he knew.

"Al," said Ed patiently, but as if he were explaining something simple to a child, "If we don't let you walk around the house, what makes you think I'm going to let you walk around a city?" He made sure that Al was situated in his chair and then carefully pushed it over to the edge of the platform and lowered it down the steps, very slowly. It was a slightly bumpy ride, but at least Al wouldn't have to get down those steps on his own.

Once down the steps, Al shook his head, and then leaned back his head into the chair and sighed. He closed his eyes as Edward continued to push the chair forward. Ed frowned at the expression on his little brother's face. He understood it well. The boy was feeling useless, and possibly a bit depressed at not being able to do anything for himself. If only he could find a way to stabilize the transmutation, then Al could start healing and go back to his happy, healthy self.

"So where are we going, Brother?" Al said after a little while of silence. Ed relaxed his arms slightly which had become tense again during Al's silence and he forced a smile on his face.

"Well, I had no choice but to talk to the idiot," said Ed. Al chuckled slightly at his terminology. It was probably quite apparent who he was meaning. Now that Ed was no longer in the military, he had no obligation to respect his superiors, though he had rarely done so to Roy anyway, but he was even able to get away with calling him by his first name nowadays if he wanted.

"So what did Roy say?" asked Al, borrowing some liberties from Ed's recently military-less position.

Ed smirked, and then continued with what he was trying to explain. "He's not so sure he believes in this stuff either, but there is a woman in this town with a reputation for helping people. She doesn't call herself a psychic though...I think the word he used was 'shaman'."

"I've heard that term before," said Al, turning his head slightly to look at his brother, "That's almost the same thing, just slightly different."

"So is it close enough for your liking?" Ed asked with a hint of laughter in his voice.

Al closed his eyes again and smiled while nodding. He leaned his head back into the chair again and relaxed. In only a matter of moments, he was asleep. Ed sighed again as he looked down at his little brother. He had so little energy that he couldn't even stay awake when he wasn't using it to move around, and yet he would try so hard to use it like a normal person. It was painful to watch the boy suffer like this.

Ed gulped. He didn't believe in legitimate psychics by any means, but if this woman actually tried to help people, she might at least be able to come up with some good advice for the two of them. If nothing else, it would likely be a fun experience for Al at the very least. He'd try to put on a cheerful face for his little brother's sake so that he could enjoy it more.

Edward pushed Al up beside a small brown house and reached into his pocket to pull out a piece of paper. Roy had told him the address of the woman and had instructed him to write it down, which he did. It was a good thing he had done so too, as he wasn't familiar with this village. It appeared that this was the right house though, so he reached down and gently shook Al's shoulder.

"Al, wake up. We're here."

Al blinked sleepily and slowly looked up at the house before them. It wasn't very glamorous or in the slightest bit dramatic. A slight frown began to form on Al's face, and Ed caught the notion that must have been running through Al's mind. "Don't worry, Al," he said, "I'm sure that she's just an ordinary person with an extraordinary profession. The people who constantly flaunt their skills usually have nothing more to show than a magic show anyway."

Al looked up at his brother and nodded, though he didn't look quite convinced. Ed sighed. They would just have to see this woman through and discover whether she really was worth as much as Roy thought she was. He shrugged and looked around for a way to get Al up onto the porch when a woman's voice suddenly interrupted his thoughts.

"Hello, are you Edward Elric?"

Ed looked up in surprise and saw a rather normal looking in a plain blue dress standing on the porch. She looked at Ed's confused face and smiled, and then looked down at the wheelchair containing Al. "This must be your little brother. I'll help you get him up here." Without a word from Ed, she jumped down onto the ground, which was not exactly what Ed had expected from a woman in a dress, and she promptly grabbed one side of Al's wheelchair and hinted at Ed to grab the other side. Ed nodded, and together the two hoisted the chair up to the top of the porch.

"Th-Thanks," Ed said between breaths. His heart was racing after that little workout, which was understandable, considering how heavy Al and the wheelchair combined were. He didn't mind though, so long as Al didn't waste any of his own energy.

The woman extended her hand. "Pleased to meet you. I'm Luita, as I'm sure you know. Roy Mustang called and told me you would be here."

Ed stifled a chuckle and reached out to shake the woman's hand. So she hadn't known who they were from her own supposed psychic abilities, but at least she was being honest about it. He had a chance of respecting someone if they were honest about what they didn't know, even if they had an unscientific profession.

"Luita?" said Al, suddenly piping up, "Luita as in the song, 'Daydreamer Luita'?" The woman chuckled audibly and nodded, and Ed smiled too. Al knew just about every Amestrian folk song in existence, and even some from other countries as well. The boy even had his own violin that he had learned to play as a fiddle so that he could play all his favorite folk songs.

"So are you daydreamy?" Al asked again, probing with an amused smile on his face.

Fortunately, Luita didn't take offense at being associated with the song, and just smiled again in return. "I suppose all shamans are a bit daydreamy," she said, "It's part of the job description." Naturally, that made Al smile even more. He would enjoy finding someone with the attributes of one of his favorite folk songs. Maybe this trip wouldn't be so bad after all. The woman was a normal human being, at least.

The three made their way into her home, which for all appearances, seemed to be a normal home as well. "I have a special room I use for meetings like this," she said, "So I'll take you there. The energy is better in that room." Ed grunted under his breath. Of course she would have a preferred room. That room was probably rigged to produce special effects to get people to pay more for her services. All the same, this was for Al, regardless, so he shrugged and followed the woman.

The room turned out to be simply furnished with a table and a few chairs around. Various symbols from religious and spiritual practices adorned the walls. There were several shelves containing a variety of things ranging from crystals to herbs to tarot cards and other weird things. Ed scanned the room with his eyes, looking wildly for any cracks in the walls or floor where something might be able to pop out. Luita turned to him and chuckled.

"A bit of a skeptic, are we?"

Ed snapped his attention back to the woman and blushed. He didn't know what to say that wouldn't embarrass everyone involved. The woman smiled and simply waved him off, freeing him of having to say anything. He released his shoulders in relief.

"A lot of skeptics come in here. I don't mind, I'm used to it. I try to help people whether they believe what I say or not."

Edward felt embarrassed again, but he tried not to show it. The woman seemed like she was trying to be nice, so he could at least return the favor, especially since Al wanted to enjoy this. He seemed to be more at ease now that he was in a room filled with strange spiritual objects, so he expected a lot more to happen. Maybe something would, though Edward was sure it would only be a bunch of magic tricks. It might be worth dealing with it just to see Al smile though.

The three positioned themselves around the table, and the woman placed her hands face down in front of her and closed her eyes, saying nothing to the boys for a few minutes. Edward squirmed in his seat. He hoped this woman wasn't going to charge a bundle for all this wasted time. That was part of the reason he hated dealing with such people.

The woman finally opened her eyes again and looked at the two boys. "I see," she said. "You have two issues that you are dealing with: one on a personal level, and one on a large scale."

A tic formed in the corner of Ed's mouth. Nice try. Something that vague could apply to anything, so what if it was technically accurate? The woman looked directly at Edward then and said, "I can get more specific, but I usually wait a little longer before I do so, as it scares some people. Your little brother is ill, and you are concerned about the upcoming war, and want to intervene."

Ed's eyes opened wide and stared at the woman. Had she really just said all that? By the reaction on Al's face, she apparently had. There had to be some trick to it. Maybe she had just guessed what was on his mind. It wouldn't be that hard, considering how Al was in a wheelchair, and a man from the military had called her to inform her of their upcoming visit. He had to give the woman some credit though. She was quite good at her little shenanigans.

"Your illness isn't normal," continued the woman, now staring directly at Al. The look on her face seemed a little bit spaced out, as though she were really looking past the boy rather than right at him. "Your aura is constantly leaking energy. It's as if you're undecided whether you should live or die."

Ed let out an audible cry of exclamation and slammed his fists on the table before him. He wasn't meaning to be rude, but that last statement had just shocked him so much beyond reason. There had been no way she could have known that. Even Roy didn't know that much. Ed had only ever bothered telling him that Al was now back in his own body and that Al was now very sick, but he hadn't told him what the matter was. Roy wouldn't be able to help him in this issue, so there seemed to be no point in letting him in on this tidbit of information. For this woman to know something like that was extraordinary.

The woman turned back towards Edward and smiled, in spite of his reaction. There was definitely something strange going on with this woman, but did she honestly have abilities that had no scientific basis? He wasn't sure he could accept that, no matter how accurate she seemed to be.

The woman stood up and walked over to one of her shelves, picked up a bowl of something, and then came back to the table. She placed what seemed to be a large spoon or ladle of some sort into the bowl and scooped out some of the liquid. It appeared to be water, but Ed was sure that it wasn't. Luita looked up in Ed's and Al's general direction then and said, "I could tell you everything about yourselves, and it would not help you in your quest. You would be a lot better off discovering the information you need for yourselves."

"But-" Al began to protest, but Ed placed a hand on his shoulder to hopefully convey a message and calm him back down. Ed suspected that he knew what the woman was getting at, but he wanted to hear her say it herself rather than allow himself to jump to conclusions.

The woman lifted up the ladle and placed her free hand under it to catch any drips that may still be loose. "I have here an herb that will aid you in going on your own shamanic journey, and seeking out the answers to your own questions. Only your own soul knows the true question, and therefore, only your own soul will know the true answer when it receives it."

"Just a simple herb can do all that?" said Al, leaning forward eagerly. Ed placed a restraining hand on Al's chest once again to calm the boy down.

"Al, what she means is that she has a psychedelic drug."

"Oh," said Al, disappointedly.

Luita smiled patiently. "True, people call the herb a drug nowadays, but shamans and sages have used the herb for millenia to gain a glimpse into the Divine. It allows both your mind and your body to be awake simultaneously, so that the questioner can seek out the answers and remember them."

"Kind of like a waking dream?" said Al, still seeming intrigued, despite Ed's previous attempt to calm down his curiosity of such a thing. Ed sighed and rolled his eyes. Maybe he should just take Al and go before the boy got talked into taking drugs to go on some strange mind trip.

"Yes," said Ed, "That's all these people are experiencing, dreams!" He was starting to get impatient, and it was becoming evident in his voice, especially judging by the way Al turned and looked at him as soon as he had said that. He felt so low for behaving that way in front of his brother. His needed to remember to set a better example for him. He felt so low right then that he slid down a couple inches in his seat.

"Brother, surely you believe in dreams," said Al, "After all those times I've been able to talk about things I had no way of knowing because I'd dreampt about it, I would have thought you'd understood that."

"Ah!" said Ed, slapping a hand to his forehead in frustration, "But that's different, Al! You actually leave your body when you sleep."

"So does everybody," said Luita, suddenly butting into the conversation. She nodded towards Al, "His connection problem allows him to have more out of body experiences than the average person, but everyone leaves their body in their sleep."

Edward slumped back into his seat, sulking slightly with not knowing what to say. He crossed his arms and legs again, embarrassing himself slightly that he was acting like this in the company of someone else, but he brushed such feelings aside. After all, this person was trying to get them to take _drugs_! He had a right to act immature in the face of that.

Al finally turned to his brother, a determined expression set on his face. When Al got that look about him, who knew what he was going to say next. "Brother," he said, "I want to try it."

Ed flew out of his seat and was standing over Al in less than a second. "You _what_?" he shouted, "Absolutely out of the question, Al! I can't believe you even thought such a thing, especially with you in your condition."

"But it would only be the one time, Brother," said Al, waving his arms around for emphasis. "If this has any chance of helping us find answers, I want to try it."

"But drugs mess with a person's _mind_, Al! Those things can mess up your life if you're not careful!"

"I'd be careful, Brother. It would only be the one time."

"That's not the point, Al, don't you get it?" Ed leaned the top part of his body backwards and pulled at his hair in frustration. How could his little brother even consider something like this? He knew what drugs were, and he knew what they could do to a person. Al was no the sort to normally consider such a thing, so why now?

"Brother," said Al, looking down at his hands and letting out a sigh, causing Ed to come back to a normal standing position and look at the boy properly. "You and Winry have been trying to protect me, I realize, and I appreciate it, but that doesn't change what's happening here. I know that I'm dying. This could be our last chance to find out what's wrong and fix it before it's too late."

"Al..." said Ed, slowly lowering himself to his seat in shock. He gulped, but couldn't find any words to say. Al knew? He knew he was dying, and yet still managed to remain so happy and optimistic? Ed knew that he could never be like that in the face of death, and he had falsely assumed that Al wouldn't be able to be if he knew.

Tears tried to prick at Ed's eyes, but he managed to blink them away. He wasn't sure how long Al's courage would last, so he wasn't going to do anything to demean it. He had to remain strong for Al, under all circumstances.

"Al," Ed said again, looking up into his brother's face, "If this means so much to you, I guess that I can't stop you, but..." Ed breathed out and closed his eyes. He had to calm himself down and find the proper words to say, supposing there were any to go with this situation. "But if you must do it, let me go first and make sure it's safe."

Al smiled at Ed and nodded. Ed leaned back in his chair and sighed. What was he getting himself into now?

_**Hope you liked that. Feel free to leave some reviews if you want to, though you don't have to. I miss the hordes of reviews I used to get, hehe, don't know why they've slowed, but I'm not going to slow my writing just because I don't get enough praise. That would be stupid. I'm writing to write, so who cares how much feedback I get? Hehehe...The review section is always open to questions, comments, and suggestions, however, because those help me to become a better writer. No praise necessary! ((Hehe, now I sound like a contest announcer.)) Write what you want, or feel free not to write at all. I'm not going to kill you for reading without reviewing, lol. I'm just glad you read my story at all. Thank you, and I hope you come back soon, since I'll have the next chapter up soon.**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**w00t! I got the awesome chapter written finally! Took long enough. I thought this scene was going to be in the first chapter, but no, so it was going to be in the second chapter, but that was not to be either. Finally I got it in the third. Jumped from the first to the third, and half of this scene is STILL being saved for the next chapter. Go figure, hehe. At least I got it written...and I'm updating this story ridiculously fast too...compromises my review count, but it does get the story written, heh.**_

_**In any case, enjoy the awesome chapter, hehe.**_

_**Disclaimer: Still don't own, still don't ask. Disclaimer muse is late again.**_

_**Muse: What? **_

Edward was nervous. He had never taken a drug in his life, aside from medical drugs, and he hated those. Medical drugs seemed to generally be given to him intravenously, and he hated shots with a passion. This one was not medical, however, and it was not with the aid of a needle. There was no way for him to know what was going to happen as soon as he took it, and the idea kind of scared him. He didn't like the idea of being out of control, especially over his own mind.

"It's okay, Edward," Luita said, holding out the ladle-like thing in Edward's general direction. "Take a couple deep breaths and calm yourself down. The journey will be a lot more pleasant if you are not so apprehensive before you begin."

Edward didn't think there would really be any way he could _not_ be apprehensive about the situation, but he did as the woman advised and took a few slow, deep breaths. He was still nervous and extremely jittery, but the breathing did help to put him in a slightly more receptive mood. Now if he could just get through this without panicking too badly, he would be doing alright. Trying hard to resist the urge to shake, he reached out and took the ladle from the woman and drank down the extract in it as quickly as he could manage. It tasted quite bitter and he wanted to gag, but he had made a promise to Al, so he was going to see this through.

He replaced the ladle on the table and coughed a few times in the vain hope that the action would rid his mouth of the foul taste of the herb, though it didn't. Hopefully it wouldn't stay around for too long. He shook his head and clenched his eyes shut as though that would help him forget about the bitter taste in his mouth, which just prompted a chuckle from Al's direction. "Taste bad, Brother?"

"Man," said Ed, putting a hand over his mouth and continuing to shake his head back and forth, "That stuff is disgusting!" He looked up at his little brother again, intending to complain further about the taste of the substance he had just ingested, when he found something much more interesting to look at. Al's face seemed to be split into two different colors, one side was blue while the other side was red, and the contrast was increasing each second. "Al...something weird is happening."

"What are you seeing, Brother?" Al asked curiously, leaning towards Ed so that he could hear him better.

The red and blue sides of Al's face became more and more defined so that before long, all Ed could see was two sides of a featureless circle swimming before his vision. The rest of the things in the room dropped out of sight and were replaced by a black void. Ed felt like he was starting to get a strange dizzy feeling in his forehead, but he had no reference point as to where up or down was while in this void, so if he fell, he wouldn't know.

Suddenly the red and blue tore themselves apart and came flying at him, making him cry out in surprise and put his arms in front of his face to protect himself, but the colors never touched his face. Instead, they assembled into a sort of grid where the red and blue intertwined with each other, almost creating purple as a result of their mixing together. Ed felt himself floating up this large grid? net? whatever it was, as the spaces in between the ropes in the grid began to assert their authority for dominance in the reality Ed was now perceiving himself in.

The squares grew and grew in his vision until he found himself in an entirely different dimension than he had started in. Everywhere he looked, he could see angular shapes. The walls, the floors, the passageways, were all made of squares and triangles. There wasn't a hint of a curve anywhere. Everything was covered in tones of green and purple and blue, lending an aura of mystery to the place, yet it felt strangely good to be here. He felt quite at home.

Every single shape in this dimension had a place here, even him. He was actually a triangle, nothing more or less, and he couldn't remember having ever been anything different. This was just the way things were. He drifted around the maze that was his home, going through multidimensional layers without hesitation, since he knew his way around this place. Why shouldn't he? It was his home, and always had been.

He flew around a bend. His specific place of belonging was around here somewhere, but he sometimes forgot exactly where, not that it was a problem. The other shapes residing there always informed him when his sense of direction was off and guided him back, and he was never far away from where he was supposed to be, despite the vastness of this dimension. Nope, this wasn't the right place. No matter, just exploring was fun. He backed up and made another turn. Would this be the right way or not? It was fine either way, since he would enjoy it regardless of the result.

"Brother?" a voice mysteriously broke through into this world he was in. He knew that voice, but why did he know it so well? Whoever heard of communicating vocally when it was so much more efficient to communicate via thought? It just seemed so silly.

Curiosity got the best of him though, and he decided to go and locate the source of the strangely familiar voice. He got back into the main passage and flew down it and around a bend to a part of the maze that he rarely ever went to. A large piece of the ceiling of this tunnel was missing, and in its place, he could see some mysterious being staring in at him. The portal to another dimension perhaps? It had to be, since the being had some very odd colors on his person as well as quite a number of curved lines and other complex shapes. Nothing like that had ever entered this dimension.

"Brother?" the voice called again. He knew for sure that he knew that voice this time, but he didn't want to listen to it. He was having so much fun. The voice wanted him to leave his home and go to that dimension, but he didn't feel like doing so at the moment. There was so much more joy to be felt as a triangle, he wasn't yet ready to give that up.

Playfully, he launched himself to the top of the wall separating the two dimensions and began to dance across the edge as best as a triangle could. There was nothing to fear. Nothing could harm him here, there wasn't even such a concept. He continued to dance around and around the opening for some time, or untime, as it was probably more apt to be called, being in the absence of time itself in this dimension.

Finally, the otherworldly being reached in through the hole in the ceiling with what Ed knew to be a hand. He didn't know how he knew, but he didn't really question how he knew either. It just didn't matter. The hand stopped in midair and silently called to him. The decision was up to him, and the hand wasn't going to force him to do one thing or the other.

He briefly opened his mind to the thoughts of the other shapes around, curiosity once again getting the better of him. Their thoughts wouldn't make him decide one way or the other, but he wanted to know what they would do in this situation anyway.

The vibes of the rest of the angular shape civilization came at him from all directions and washed over him. _Don't go, _and_This is silly, thinking of leaving a wonderful place like this for a chaotic place like that. _He didn't deny that leaving this bliss for the kind of civilization that this other being was calling him to was a silly move on his part. That other dimension wasn't blissful in the least. They didn't always get along or accept each other. They didn't all have a place to call home. But all the same, he wanted to go there. He wanted to understand them, and he wanted to show them a little bit of the bliss he had experienced here in this world.

Everyone continued to send their opinions via their thoughts, but he didn't pay attention to them any longer. Their views no longer mattered as he had already made his decision. He launched himself up to the hole in the ceiling and felt the hand take hold of him as though he was one of its own. As he passed through and out of the wall separating the two dimensions from each other, he felt himself changing. He was becoming something else. He was losing his triangle form, becoming more complex. He still remembered the love and bliss of home, but he was quickly gaining the knowledge of the chaos in this new world. It needed help, so much help. If only it could learn the secret of pure joy and understanding he had experienced back in his homeworld.

He found himself drifting down into a room where a couple other beings, similar in shape to his new form, were seated, almost as though they were waiting for him. Perhaps they were. He was here to learn and to teach. He had so much to say about another way of life, and he couldn't wait to start.

He touched down in a seated position at one end of a large flat thing...a table, that was what it was called. His breathing became quite heavy as he tried to adjust to this strange new world. There had been no need for breath where he had just come from. These beings apparently needed to circulate new energy through their bodies on a regular basis to revitalize themselves. That could be a useful way of teaching these people about the other way of life he knew, if they could just learn to connect to his world and circulate the energy through themselves.

"Brother, are you okay?"

There was that voice again. He looked up slowly and began to take in his surroundings. One of the beings near him was looking directly at him. He was sure he knew this being from somewhere, but he couldn't quite place where. Who was he?

"Brother?" the voice said again. This time, he had observed the being during the process of speech, so he knew that the voice had come from this being. The familiarity level was gradually increasing as well, and the being's name was beginning to surface in his mind, though he couldn't recall it just yet.

He scanned the room once again with his newfound eyes, trying to get used to this new body and his new surroundings again, though he knew that the process was going to take awhile. One didn't just leave home, change bodies, and then go on as if nothing had happened.

Suddenly the other being's name reached his tongue. "Al."

The boy he had called by name suddenly looked up at him and smiled. Good, he had called him correctly. This being, Al, had been the one to call him out of his home dimension, and he wanted to be able to communicate properly with him.

"And I'm..." he began, "My name..."

"Go on," said Al, sounding quite patient under the circumstances.

"My name..." he started again, "Is...Edward."

"That's right," said Al, "You're Edward. You're my brother, remember?"

So his name was Edward. That helped a bit. He had a name now. But brother? What was a brother? He placed his hand on his forehead as he tried to recall the necessary information, as he was sure that he knew it. Why was he so confused about everything? Why did so many things here not make any sense?

He slowly opened his eyes again and looked carefully at Al. The boy seemed really familiar to him. Naturally he would, since he had remembered his name somehow, but he was having difficulty placing exactly where he had met him.

Finally it hit him. The both of them looked similar to each other. That would imply a bigger connection than just having known each other for some time. Ed opened his mouth and slowly said the words, "Brothers...we're...family."

"Yes, we are!" said Al, obviously excited, though it seemed he was trying to calm himself down and not get too worked up. Maybe it was for his benefit, since he was still quite confused. That was nice of him to not try to rush him through this.

Things were slowly beginning to filter their way into his memory, but how could they be in his memory if he had always lived in the shape dimension? Had he been living some sort of double life? This was very disturbing to his mind and difficult to grasp. He knew he had just come from the other world, so where did these other memories fit in?

A ladle of strange water flashed into his mind. He saw himself drinking it. A drug? Had he really done that? He would never take a drug, that was ridiculous. There had to be a better explanation, and he searched his mind for one, but he couldn't find any other memory that would explain what he had just been through. The vision of the ladle flashed back into his mind. Had this whole experience been drug induced? How could it have been? He had been in that other world for an eternity, whereas the time in this world was very brief, even counting the memories he was regaining of being in this form. He had been a triangle so much longer than he had been a human, there was no way a drug could have caused that to happen.

But the image persisted of him drinking the extract from the ladle. He tasted the remaining bitter taste in his mouth. He had done that, he couldn't deny it now. He remembered it well enough to admit it now, but he couldn't dismiss what he had seen in the other world. Time didn't exist there as it did here, and in the time he had spent here, it only added up to a brief chapter of his entire life that he had spent living amongst the shapes. He was more a triangle than he was a human being. He always had been, and always would be, but he was in human form now, and had chosen to be in human form. He had chosen to come here, to learn and to teach, so he was going to accept his new form with pride, even if he had truly entered it long ago.

But what had he come to teach? The shapes' way of life, of course. That much was easy to understand, but what did it mean when he translated it into human terms? They lived differently, and wouldn't understand things if put too simply. He had to make the story more complex or it would miss them completely. He needed to have something that reminded them to concentrate on the loving energy of the shapes and pull it through them, rejuvenating and revitalizing them.

Another image flashed into his mind. A crude representation of squares and triangles drawn together on a flat surface, as well as a representation of the curves present in this dimension to bind both forms together into a united energy. Shapes drawn in chalk. A transmutation circle. He had come here to teach these people the use of the power of the shapes in the form of alchemy. These people had learned a lot, but not what he had been trying to teach all along. True alchemy does not harm, and it does not leach energy off of others. True alchemy draws its energy from his homeworld, the land of the shapes, and one connected to that world by means of the emotions they felt in that world, those of love and joy. Negative emotions did not exist there, and so if one felt negative emotions while trying to connect, they would fail, because they had dialed the wrong address.

"Brother?" Al called again. Ed blinked and looked at the boy, surprised to find him there. He had gotten so absorbed in his thoughts that he had forgotten again where he was, but he was regaining that knowledge once again as he looked around. A few parts of his mind still nagged about how confused they were, but for the most part, he understood what was going on now.

"Oh my gosh, Al," said Ed, leaning forward and placing his forehead in his hands, "That was the weirdest thing I have ever experienced. I don't even have the words to describe it."

"Try," said Al, "I'm curious."

"Well," said Ed, as he moistened his lips and looked up towards the ceiling to try and recall the events from just a few moments before, "I was in, like...this dimension composed entirely of triangles and squares...or something like that. I can't figure out how to explain it."

Al laughed. "That must have been weird."

Ed's eyes opened wide and he let out a large breath. "It _was._"

"So," Al said, his tone of voice suddenly changing to one of concern, "Did you get any answers, perchance?"

"I don't know yet," said Ed, lightly shaking his head, "But I suspect that some of the things I saw will answer some of the questions I didn't even know I had, once I think on them a little bit more."

Al smiled again and went silent. Ed knew what that meant. Al wanted to ask something, but wasn't sure how to do so. Ed leaned forward towards the boy. "What?"

The younger brother fidgeted nervously for a moment, obviously trying to put his thoughts together. Ed waited patiently. Al had been patient while he had been undergoing his...journey...so he could return the favor. Finally the boy looked back up at Ed and said, "Brother, awhile back...just a minute after you drank that stuff, you started crying. What happened?"

Crying? He didn't remember crying at all. Nothing bad had happened to him during the whole journey, so what could have caused him to be disturbed enough to cry...unless they had been tears of joy?

"Heh," said Ed, "I honestly don't remember crying...but...if I had to guess, I would say it was from the sense of being home in that triangle dimension, truly home. It felt so good there that I didn't want to leave."

"But the drug wore out and forced you out?" asked Al.

Ed shook his head. "No, that place was more real than that, Al. It existed long before the drug did. It was way more than a dream." He paused and took a deep breath. "I left there because you called me, and I wanted to be with you."

Al's face looked blank as it usually did when he didn't understand, but a sweet smile was still in place on it. Ed knew that Al could always hear the sincerity in his voice, and so it would have been obvious to him that what Ed was saying was the truth, even if it made no sense.

"So," Ed said, and he let out a sigh as he brushed his bangs out of his eyes, "Were you planning on taking a trip too?"

Al's eyes went wide. "You'll let me, Brother?"

Ed chuckled. "Just a minute ago, you were going to defy everything I said and do it anyway!"

Al blushed and slumped down slightly into his wheelchair. "Yeah, well, but-"

Ed handed the ladle to Al. "It's your choice, Al. I don't want you making a habit of this, by any means, but if this is the only place we have left to turn to for answers, who am I to tell you no?"

Al smiled. "That must have been quite a trip for you to change your perception just like that."

"Let's just say it was quite an eye opening experience."

The brothers smiled at each other once again, and Al reached for the ladle.

_**Phew! I've been writing so freaking much today, I can't believe it. About 7,000 words in one day, unless you count the chapter from last night, which I technically submitted today, though I don't count it normally because my day and night are kind of mixed up, hehe. Anyway, I hope you liked that. I'll write up the next chapter soon, though not today I don't think, hehe. You'll have to wait at least a day before hearing about Al's trip, but I'm sure you can handle it, getting all these chapters so quickly, hehe. Anyway, tell me your thoughts if you feel like it, and I'll see you soon!**_


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